


Dance with me

by servantofclio



Series: Julian Shepard [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24191578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/servantofclio/pseuds/servantofclio
Summary: Two women, three dances(from a prompt)
Relationships: Hannah Shepard/Original Character(s)
Series: Julian Shepard [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/696426
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Dance with me

“Do you wanna dance?” Hannah calls over the blare of the band that’s playing.

“I’m not much for dancing,” Rae shouts back.

Her ears are already aching, and they’ve barely been here for half an hour. It’s a whole group thing, Hannah and the rest of Jami’s friends showed up for the weekend again, and it’s almost the end of the school year so they went to a different bar than usual. Rae hadn’t realized that meant live music. The rest of them have hit the dance floor already.

Hannah’s face falls a bit, but she says, “Oh, okay. We can just hang out, then.” Only she has to shout it, practically, because the background music is so loud.

“You can go without me,” Rae calls.

“No, it’s fine, I’d rather be with you.”

Rae’s throat feels unexpectedly tight. She and Hannah have been a Thing for six weeks. Not a Thing, a couple, an actual honest-to-God dating couple. They’ve texted practically every day, and chatted a lot, but they haven’t actually spent time in the same place. Much less being a couple with other people around. She’s keenly aware of Hannah’s presence in the seat next to her, the faint smell of the soap she uses, but neither of them seems quite sure what to do.

Two booths over a guy and a girl are making out enthusiastically. Rae eyes them with discomfort and a bit of jealousy. There’s no way she’s going to be all over another person in public like that. Even Hannah. Who’s her girlfriend.

She reaches for Hannah’s hand, half reassuring herself that the last six weeks haven’t been an elaborate fantasy. Hannah takes her hand and squeezes it, hard.

Fuck it. It’s too loud to hear each other talk, anyway. “Actually,” Rae says, “yeah. Let’s dance.”

Hannah lights up with a smile. “Really?”

“Yeah!”

Rae doesn’t exactly know dance moves. But the music is loud, and the beat isn’t hard to find, and no one is looking at her anyway, and Hannah’s a joy to watch, bouncing and sweaty and lost in the music.

#

The dance instructor is imposingly tall, taller than Hannah in their killer heels, long-legged and sleek and elegant. “So welcome, both of you, for your first session,” they say. “And what brought you two in for private lessons? Four sessions, yes?”

“We might need longer,” Rae says. “I’m no good at dancing.”

The instructor smiles. “We can certainly discuss that later if you want to continue, but I promise, four sessions can get anyone more comfortable and confident on the dance floor.”

“We’re getting married,” Hannah puts in. “In six months.”

“Oh, wonderful! Mazel tov!” The instructor claps their hands. “A lot of engaged couples come in for lessons. Are you looking for that picture perfect first dance?”

“I want to feel like I know what the fuck I’m doing out there,” Rae says.

“I’ve never really done ballroom type dancing,” Hannah adds.

The instructor nods. “Okay, we’ll start with some basics. Which of you would like to learn the lead part?”

“Me,” Rae says firmly. Hannah, Lieutenant Shepard, who lives her life in uniforms, is going to get her white satin and lace and her romantic evening, if Rae has to sprain an ankle trying.

The instructor glances from tall Hannah to short Rae, but doesn’t bat an eye. “We can work with that.”

#

Julian’s not usually a fussy baby, but today... today he wouldn’t settle no matter what either of them did. He fussed and cried and wailed for Hannah every time she tried to pass him off to Rae. Music was what finally got him to chill out enough to fall asleep, some pop song that’s slow and honey-sweet, catchy enough that Rae hums a little and dances in a circle in the living room.

Hannah emerges from the baby’s bedroom and stops, blinking at Rae. “What are you doing?”

“Come on, dance with me.” Rae holds out her hands.

“I thought you weren’t much for dancing,” Hannah says, but she steps forward and takes Rae’s hand.

“Maybe I changed my mind,” Rae says, pulling Hannah closer. “Or maybe I’ve lost it because it’s the first quiet moment all day.”

Hannah laughs, weakly. “I guess they said parenting could be like this.”

“It’s okay. We figured it out. Music soothes the cranky baby. We’re a family, we’ve got this.”

Hannah sighs, leaning into Rae. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.”

It’s nothing fancy, pretty much just swaying together, arms around each other. Rae leans her head on Hannah’s shoulder, feeling how tired she is in the way her shoulders droop. Hannah’s auburn hair is long enough to brush against Rae’s face, and she still feels perfect in Rae’s arms. “You’re so beautiful,” she blurts, out of nowhere.

Hannah misses a beat and hugs Rae tighter. “I needed to hear that, too. You always know what to say.”

“Just when it comes to you.”


End file.
